The only thing lacking was a playoff berth, something that was just outside Carroll’s grasp and the missing detail to what would have been the perfect regular season ending. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case for a team that could not have been farther removed from a postseason spot at this time last year.
“Compared to last year, we really have come a long way,” said Lady Dragons coach Mandi Barnett, whose team finished 11-12 overall, 6-8 in District 5-5A after posting a 4-21 record and only winning one district game in 2007. “Even in the games ... with innings where it might have fallen apart or whatever, they still gave me everything they had the entire game.
“As a coach, that’s just something that you love to see, because you can’t really make that happen,” she said. “They either have to want it or they don’t, and every one of these kids was in the game at all times.”
Carroll finished the non-district schedule at 5-4 and started 0-4 in district competition before turning things around with a 5-3 clip that put the Lady Dragons back in the playoff hunt. A loss to Colleyville Heritage on April 8 knocked Carroll out of the running, but that did not weaken the Lady Dragons’ desire to finish strong, Barnett said.
“They still wanted to go out on a win, especially with it being Senior Day,” she said. “This team has got too much heart to just give up, throw in the towel and say ‘forget it.’”
Against Keller Central (0-14), Carroll’s seniors made sure that their Senior Day wasn’t spoiled. After the Lady Dragons’ 3-1 lead was lost when the Lady Chargers scored four in the sixth to take a 5-3 advantage, senior outfielder Katherine Olear evened things up when she doubled in senior center fielder Emily Meyers and Melissa Morris with two outs in the bottom of the sixth.
After senior pitcher Lindsay Carlson kept Central in check in the top of the seventh, Meyers came through with heroics in the bottom of the inning with a hit to right field that doubled home Anna Winter for a 6-5 victory.
“We always find a way by the end to pick it up,” Meyers said. “We really wanted to end the season with a good one. It started really good, and we wanted it to finish that way. Especially for me, it being the last one.
“I still remember my first game here four years ago,” she said. “[Against Central], all the underclassmen just said, ‘This one’s for the seniors.’ ... I really appreciate that.”
Barnett said she was proud of the effort her senior leaders – Meyers, Carlson, Olear, Margaret McAvoy, Kristina Myles and Elyse Lombardo – gave throughout the season, as well as the rest of the players.
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